​As many college students get ready for their fall semesters to begin, they are left with the daunting prices of tuition that continue to climb every year. With the rise of college degrees among Americans, young students graduating from high school feel their only option is to continue their education by going to a public or private university and by doing so they are simultaneously taking on hefty tuition fees.

In most cases fees are paid for through student learns, which, in turn, are leaving them graduating with debt that far exceeds their “young professional” paycheck.

What seems to be a continuous rise in tuition fees leaves you wondering what other options do these young students have as they go into the next phase of their lives?

An option often overlooked is trade schools. Trade schools offer a variety of options geared to meet the demands of the professional market seeking skilled workers.

Individuals who enter these fields have a median starting entry pay of $60,000 while others studying liberal arts and communications at large-scale universities have an entry pay of $30,000-$40,000.

Tuition costs and median entry-level pay per profession leaves many young students wondering if going to a public or private university is still what was once seen as an investment.

A career that serves a need never goes out of style and offers job security even in the toughest of times. It would be hard to argue that the need for heating and air conditioning will ever go away. I've been involved in the trades for 15 years and know by experience that you can take away many luxuries from people but when the A/C goes down or the heat is out, people want it back NOW!

​Here is a great article from Tough Nickel that covers the fundamentals of a career in HVAC.

]]>Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:28:24 GMThttp://www.tlcedu.com/news/a-great-career-opportunity-at-tlcTechnology Learning Center, a career school serving the community since 2001, is actively searching for a motivated individual to work in our Admissions Department. The suitable candidate will work in our Oxford location and report directly to the school director.

The Admission Representative will assume field and in-house responsibilities in sales, recruitment, and job placement of students in the fields of HVACR, Power Generation, Renewable Energy, and Facility Operations and Maintenance.

The ideal candidate will be a motivated sales person with a degree in marketing or a related field and will have at least three years of experience in a similar position.

We offer a competitive compensation package including profit sharing, mileage reimbursement and an opportunity for advancement.

Contractors started out 2017 feeling positive about short-term growth, according to ACCA, which reported its January 2017 Contractor Comfort Index (CCI) scored a 78 — up two points from its January 2016 rating.

The CCI is calculated based on a survey of ACCA contractor members who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future.

"When VRF technology was introduced to the U.S. more than 10 years ago, few could have predicted how quickly the commercial market would embrace these new systems. Many initially thought of the equipment as a niche product that would find its place in select applications but felt it would never be considered a mainstream technology by the HVAC industry.

Fast forward a decade and not only has VRF technology been widely accepted by contractors and end users alike, virtually every major U.S. manufacturer is now offering these systems, as well. Contractors who were initially hesitant to offer VRF because they feared the systems were too complex or difficult to install found their fears allayed after the first installation. And then they became vocal advocates of VRF. Nearly immediately after, their competition started jumping on the bandwagon, too."

​Mike Labrecque talks with Tony Chamoun about the advantages of TLC's online learning program. According to Mike, one of the big advantages of these courses is the ability to meet with TLC staff and ask any questions and get assistance regarding the online course

]]>Tue, 03 Jan 2017 21:37:25 GMThttp://www.tlcedu.com/news/the-six-problems-caused-by-dry-air-and-how-to-combat-themAs the cold weather moves in, humidity levels naturally drop. That’s because cold air can’t hold as much moisture as warm air. Ideal indoor humidity during winter should hover around 45 percent. But dry winter air can cause your humidity to drop substantially, to levels of 15 percent or less. With this humidity imbalance come a number of potential problems that can affect your health, your home and especially your comfort.

Problem 1: Dry air and disease preventionThe upper part of your respiratory system, including your throat and nose, is lined with moist membranes. These membranes serve to capture dirt, dust, viruses and bacteria before they reach your lungs. When these membranes lose too much moisture to dry air, their ability to capture particles becomes compromised.

Proper humidity levels help these membranes do their job preventing harmful particles from getting into the sensitive areas of your lungs. So if you take steps to keep the right amount of moisture in your air, you can actually reduce your risk of illness.

The Social Security Administration estimates 22 percent of the U.S. workforce will retire over the next eight years. For the HVAC industry, which is chock full of retiring baby boomers, that percentage is probably much larger.

While HVAC’s experienced veterans continue to disappear into retirement, the industry has struggled to replenish its crop of skilled workers. Recent studies from the HVACR Workforce Development Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) quantify the need, estimating that 115,000 new HVACR workers must be trained by 2022 to meet an anticipated demand that is set to increase 14 percent, which exceeds the average growth rate for all other occupations.